Adding additional Hard drives

[Puddings]

So, I gave up on trying to fix my old computer and I have 2 spare hard drives sitting around, a 250 GB and a 500 GB hard drive. I know you can use HD space as memory to speed up your computer, and I was just wondering if using them would give any noticeable difference to my comp.
Also, is it harmful to the computer or hard drives to use them like that at all? =P
Thanks in advance

[patio]

Hard drive memory is not the same as RAM memory...
The memory referred to on drives is storage space...
Adding HDD's will not speed up the machine in any way...it will just add more storage space.

Adding RAM however will add a performance increase.

Hope this clears things up...

[Puddings]

Umm thanks for the response.
When I go to start menu, right click computer, go to properties, go to system properies... under the advanced tab, under performance, under the advanced tab, there's the Virtual Memory section. "A paging file is an area on the hard disk that Windows uses as if it were RAM." That was what I was talking about >< Is that section not used as RAM? I thought by adding additional HD's and setting them up that way would let the computer use them as RAM and speed it up... maybe..
Am I completely off?
Thanks in advance
I'm using Vista btw~

[johnnybravo]

Its not gonna help and using a disk like that will cause it to have a very short life as it will be constantly reading and writing and the motor will die prematurely.

Usually when Windows uses your paging file it places files that are not used often in it to prevent "disk thrashing" or like I said earlier reading/writing alot. If you feel like you need more RAM then you should buy more. RAM is much faster than any HDD and is by far the best thing to upgrade in a machine.

If you want to make use of the HDD's try setting up a RAID array. Most motherboards come with a built in controller. Or just using them as backups. Windows has a built-in backup scheduler that will do it all for you, after an initial config of course, and if your main HDD ever fails you can slap in a new one and restore from the backup. You should always have a backup because a HDD will fail its just a matter of time.

[patio]

The swapfile does simulate RAM memory...
However it is limited as to what it can do for a system-wide speedup so i'd say no this would bot give you the performabce boost you're expecting.

[Puddings]

Thanks, both of you. I'm not too worried about my RAM, it's just  I've had one of these HD's sitting around for months and trying to find a use for em  Idk what that RAID array is, but I'll def look into it. Thankz

[patio]

I'm not sure a RAID array is a good suggestion considering the info supplied here...

[Geek-9pm]

1. Disabling the page file is not a general recommendation for personal computer use
2. There are a number of things you can do to improve performance of your computer. A very simple thing is to not have more than one program running at a time.
3. Adding more hard drive space to your system can improve the performance in some situations. But most home users already have plenty of hard drive space and there would be little advantage to adding another hard drive.

Here is some information about the page file that is important to know for a different reason. Protection of your passwords.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314834

[rjmostwanted]

also upgrading parts of your pc ^_^ like memory (RAM), Sound Card, Video Card,Router, Internet Connection,Updating PC Boosters, Scanner and Antivirus ofcourse......

[johnnybravo]

I'm not sure a RAID array is a good suggestion considering the info supplied here...

That is true I just realized they are different sizes and are old. Just use them to backup to.

[Puddings]

Thanks guys ^^ On a side note rq, it's best if I get RAM of the same size as the ones I have, right? I read somewhere if you use different size ram sticks it can lower the efficiency... I think? =P

[rjmostwanted]

not just use the right RAM at your pc i mean whats compatible

use cpuid or faronics or belarcs advisor for more info about your hardwares ^_^

[Geek-9pm]

More memory is you best investment now. Until you get up to 4GB.
Here is a link to Tiger Direct. For informational use.
This is not an endorsement.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/campaigns/campaigntemplate.asp?CampaignID=576

[patio]

If you travel to Crucial.com and run the online scanner you will know exactly what to shop for.....FREE.